Secret Gaurdian Angel
by 2310Babixz
Summary: Many years after the Himmel street bombing, Liesel's family is hit with a blow when her youngest grandchild Charlotte dies from cancer. After Liesel has a close encounter with Heaven, however, she tells Charlotte to look for the one person Liesel knows will protect her, and Death sees Heaven for the first time. Let me know what you think so I can write chapter two.
1. Chapter 1

Many years after the Himmel Street bombings, after being a part of some of the biggest tragedies – the atomic bombs, 9/11, among other things – my curiosity soon got the better part of me. After several years, I finally decided to check up on the Book Thief. I found that she had lived her life as she always had – headstrong, breaking the rules, and with a heart of rubber, always bouncing back.

After marrying Klaus Bauer, another German with hark darker then hers and sea foam blue eyes, the two moved to Australia, and began their life together. Klaus stayed true to his family name, and became a farmer. Expecting a family, Klaus bought a big farmhouse, enough for as many kids they would like. Liesel turned one of the rooms into her sanction. She wrote many of her best-selling books in that room, including a few she just wrote for herself. After a few years together, they finally began to have a family, and by the time Liesel was thirty, her eldest child was eight, and her youngest was three.

First there was feminine and bold, Karla Annaliese Bauer, who looked more like a Steiner then a Bauer. I wondered if Liesel saw that too. Then there was Heidi Flora Bauer, another perfect German. I wondered how two dark haired people could give birth to such blonde haired-blue eyes girls, but surely enough, they did. Finally, there was Leon Ansel Bauer. He had dark eyes like his mother, but hair so light, you would have sworn you could see through it.

Liesel and Klaus wanted to teach their children all about their German culture. Heidi and Leon were proud German blood, but Karla went her own way. Nonetheless, all the kids had a thick German accent until they started their education at the local public school, where they learned their Australian accents.

Still, people grow, and Liesel's children grew too, having their own children. Let's start with little Leon, and his wife Emmeline. They had only two kids; Felix Ansel Bauer and Nina Ava Bauer. Heidi married Abel Smith, and had four kids; Alexander Abe Smith, Kaspar Alaric Smith, Elsa Crystal Smith, and finally, Sara Paige Smith. Then there was their eldest daughter, Karla. She had five children with her husband Alvin Jones. Sophia Paige Jones, Kai Jacob Jones, Max Wilhem Jones, Bruno Warren Jones, and Charlotte Estelle Jones. In case you weren't keeping track, that's 16 people, including Liesel and Klaus.

Ah, little Charlotte. She was the youngest of all the grand children, only seven years old. Still, why I could tell from her life was that it wasn't worth living. Leukemia had taken over her body, and instead of going to a public school, her mother homeschooled her from the hospital room. Liesel made a point to come out and see her several times a month.

However, before I can tell you the story of little Charlotte, I must give you the story of the first time I saw Heaven. It was also the first time Liesel saw Heaven. What I did not mention before is that I checked up on Liesel many times, whenever I could. One thing I don't get to do in my job is see where people end up after they die. I just lead them down the road, and destiny, or God, or afterlife decided their fate. I don't. One day, though, my questions were answered, as were Liesel's.

When I came to check up on Liesel at the age of thirty, she and I both got a shock. It was just like any other night for the Book Thief. She was brushing her teeth, preparing for bed, while three year old Leon was grabbing her hands and shaking it, insisting that she come read him a book. Liesel ignored his cries because she was used to it by now. She bent over to spit her toothpaste out, and when she looked up in the mirror… well, there was no mirror. In front of her was Heaven. Her face in the mirror became the face of a small boy, with eyes the color of her sons favorite blue Crayon and hair the color of lemons. Liesel could only stare at him, even as toothpaste drooled out of her mouth.

There was no words exchanged between young Rudy and grown Liesel. Instead, Liesel watched very slowly as his hand came through the mirror frame. His bunched up fist opened, and out popped a little silver circle with a yellow stone on it. Liesel looked at the small ring, and then back up to him. He insisted she take it. By this point, even little Leon was frozen, watching this strange man interact with his mother.

Liesel use her fingertips to pick up the small ring. It was a ring Rudy had been saving, but he died before he could give it to her, so instead, he gave it to her from Heaven through her mirror. After she took the ring, and he gave Liesel one last look into her eyes, and he disappeared. Liesel longed for him to come back, but realized it must have been her imagination. However, the ring that was placed just above her wedding band said differently.

From that point on, every time she walked past that mirror, she would look into with a morning look on her face, just praying that eventually someone else would come through and speak to her. Whether someone came through or not, both mine and Liesel's questions were answered; there was a Heaven, and they were all waiting for her over there.

Now, I shall continue on with my story of little Charlotte, the seven year old with her life stolen from her. I'm not really sure how to start, so let's begin with the day that could break anyone's heart; the day she told her grandmother about Heaven.

Liesel was sitting on her hospital bed as Charlotte colored on a big piece of paper. She had every color of Crayon's imaginable, because Liesel wanted to make sure that whatever came from Charlotte's heart, she could draw it. Karla insisted it was ridiculous, but whenever Charlotte would sit on her bed and look at all her pretty colored Crayons, Karla would have to just let it go.

This particular day, it looked like she was only drawing clouds. She drew her grandfather, who had died the year before. In case you were wondering, Klaus died from a heart attack at age eighty nine. That was really all that Charlotte knew that died, so she began drawing people whom she heard about from her grandmother; Hans, Rosa, Isla, Rudy. She had never seen what Rudy looked like, but she drew him anyway. Like any seven year old, she wrote their names with arrows pointing to them.

Sick little Charlotte looked up to her grandmother. Liesel thought she saw death in her eyes, but I was only standing next to the bed.

"Grandmother?" she asked.

"Yes?" Liesel asked softly.

"What do you think Heaven is like?" Charlotte asked. Charlotte knew she would be going there eventually, and she just wanted to know that if she did, she would be safe.

Liesel peered at Charlotte's picture, and softly removed from her granddaughters grasp. She looked at the drawing, happy, shocked, and sad that her seven year old granddaughter had drawn such a thing. Her family, her best friend, her ex-husband, all in one picture… well, would be ex-husband. He died before it was official.

"Is this Heaven?" she asked Charlotte. The little girl nodded her bald head, anticipating what her grandmother would say next.

Liesel had always been good at touching people's hearts. Whether it was the heart of an old man who took her in as his daughter, or a strange she had never met that happened to pick up her book, she always left a mark wherever she went. She didn't believe that it was right to tell a child who was sick that they were going to die, but she felt that she could at least say something that would help ease Charlotte's mind.

"Do you want to know a secret?" she whispered to Charlotte. For all of her grandkids, 'Do you want to know a secret?' was like a code to say 'I am about to tell you something great'. Charlotte smiled and sat up in her bed. Liesel leaned in too.

"I saw Heaven once," Liesel said. Charlotte's eyes widened.

"You died?" she asked. I would have laughed, but I was afraid that if I did, it would have been too loud, and the jig would be up. Liesel chuckled and shook her head.

"Nein, this boy right here," Liesel said, pointing to the boy marked 'Rudy'.

"He came to me, long, long before you were born. He came to me through my bathroom window, just to give me this ring," Liesel said, slipping off the tiny yellow-stone ring off her finger. She held it up for her granddaughter to see, and with the same expression and carefulness that Liesel had when she first saw it, she picked up the ring with her two little fingers. She held it in her hand and looked at it questioningly. Was this ring really in Heaven? Liesel felt that in heart, what she was about to say would go against her own rule to tell Charlotte was going to die, but she felt that Charlotte knew it already. So, she just said it.

"Charlotte, I refuse to say that you will die before I do. The universe doesn't work like that. Grandchildren do not die before their grandparents. Besides, I constantly have a foot in the grave. I am very, very old, you know? I will surely pass away soon. You however, your future is a little more flexible. Still, if it will make you feel better, I will give you one piece of advice," she said. She pulled out her mini-photo album out of her purse, and pulled out a picture for Charlotte.

"If you die before I do, you look for this boy. I know he is in Heaven, and I know he will protect you, and he will make you happy. He had many sisters, some younger then you. He will take care of you," Liesel said. She handed Charlotte the only picture she had left of Rudy, and watched as little Charlotte scanned through the picture.

"This is Rudy?" she finally asked.

"Ya, this is Rudy. He will protect you, I know he will," Liesel said.

"Promise me you will look for him," Liesel added. Charlotte's eyes began to water. It wasn't because she was scared of dying. No, she cried because she thought about her parents after she died. She had seen how her mother reacted when her father died, and she did not want such a thing to happen when she died.

"I will grandmother, if you promise that you'll take care of mum and dad after I die," Charlotte said. Liesel was crying real tears of sadness; another young soul being taken away from her, but she tried to keep it together, they way she always had.

"I promise," Liesel replied. They hugged each other a cried, and Liesel gave Charlotte one of the last kisses she would ever give her.

Charlotte died on a stormy Australian night. After years of fighting for her life, everyone, including Charlotte, agreed that it was no point for Charlotte to be fighting for her life anymore. The youngest of Liesel's grandchildren slipped away while Liesel held her hand. Charlotte's soul practically jumped into my arms. She wasn't scared of dying, now that she knew what to do. She held the picture of Rudy in her hands, and I watched as Liesel slipped a note very subtly into Charlotte's hands as well.

After I sent Charlotte on her way, I felt for the first time, a real need and want to see where she ended up. I am never saddened by someone dying; it's how the universe works. I did, however, want to see if she really found Rudy. Rudy was always such a character, and seeing Liesel's and Rudy's relationship built up to the moment he died was very entertaining for me. I simply felt it was unfair that after taking people's lives, I never get to see where they go. I begged the universe for a chance to just see where Charlotte would go, and to know if she found Rudy.

The universe granted me that wish.


	2. Chapter 2

After I slipped over to the other side, I felt initially awkward. I had never been to Heaven before. I only saw it once in the place of a window. I didn't know what it was like. Initially, I thought it was just clouds floating around; eternal boredom in other words. However, what I found was quite different. To my surprise, I found myself back on Himmel Street. I could see Alex Steiner's shop, I saw the house Liesel spend her young teenage years, and I could see the street the boys used to play soccer on. It was all here. I knew Rudy must have been here, so I looked for him, but instead found little Charlotte. I barely even recognized her. Her hair was all back, there were no more bags under her eyes, and she wasn't hooked up to any machines.

I found the brunette staring at herself in a puddle of water on the street. She constantly played with her hair, pulling it through her fingers, even dipping it in the puddle, and braiding it. I can imagine she felt great happiness finally seeing hair on her head. Instead of a hospital gown, she wore a pale blue floral dress with white sneakers. Her eyes were finally clear and not cloudy, a rich coffee brown. Though she never spent time in the sun, her skin was a beautiful warm color, and her smile was thin-lipped.

When she finally stood up from the puddle, she looked around at where she was at. She looked closely at all the stores and houses in front of her. I think she didn't even know what she was looking for in this town. She didn't know this was where her grandmother grew up.

Finally, her eyes peered up to the store Alex Steiner owned. I watched Charlotte's lips mouth the word 'Steiner'. She slowly walked up to the glass door and looked inside. She peered all around, up and down, but it was useless, as no one was in there. She slowly turned around, and there was a sound that was familiar to me, the sound of soccer ball being kicked against a house.

Charlotte and I both looked down the street, and sure enough, we saw German blonde hair flapping around in the wind while a boy kicked a soccer ball around. Charlotte looked over her black-and-white picture, and since he was the only one there, she figured it must have been him. She walked over to the blonde hair boy, taking little baby steps. Once Rudy noticed someone standing next to him, he stopped kicking his soccer ball long enough to look at the girl. They stared at each other in a quick moment of silence, and Charlotte checked her picture again.

"Are you Rudy?" she asked. Rudy seemed surprised to hear what his name sounded like with an Australian accent.

"Ya, who are you?" Rudy asked.

"I'm Charlotte. My grandmother told me to look for you. She gave me this note for you," Charlotte said. She held up a white piece of paper folded into many halves. Rudy slowly took the paper from the child's fingertips and opened it up quickly. Inside read;

_Dear Rudy,_

_This is my granddaughter. I know you will take care of her._

_Love,_

_Liesel_

_P. you for the ring. It is beautiful._

For the first time in many, many years of collecting souls, I saw Rudy's smile again. The same care-free smile he had always given Liesel that could put her mind at ease. Charlotte waited for his response. He kneeled down in front of her and held her hand.

"What is your name?" he asked her.

"Charlotte," she replied. It was almost like she was scared to say it. Rudy just continued to smile. He didn't mind looking over Charlotte. He could sense her shyness, and using his classic Rudy charm, found a way to work around it.

"Do you want to play some soccer?" he asked her.

Charlotte looked at the ball wanting fully to be able to play such a sport. She was never allowed to play such games on Earth. She was always too sick, unable to play. Her mother never would have wanted Charlotte to be in such danger. It broke little Charlotte's heart every time she saw children playing outside, knowing she would never be allowed to join them.

"I don't know how," she said honestly. Rudy smile got even wider. He knew he would have fun with little Charlotte.

"I'll teach you," he said.

And teach he did. He taught her many things to pass the time. The first thing she learned in Heaven was the game of soccer. Then, Rudy taught her about climbing the trees around town. Next was German. She had a very tough time because of her accent, but he was able to teach her enough German to have a conversation with her. Finally, he taught her how to run. Charlotte knew how to run, but not how to Jesse Owens run. If anyone knew how to Jesse Owens run, it was Rudy, and now, Charlotte.

Rudy constantly kept an eye out for new things to try and do with little Charlotte to make her happy. Charlotte got along well with all his younger siblings, and the two grew on each other, like brother and sister. Charlotte trusted him, and Rudy protected her. Charlotte told Rudy all her secrets, like how she knew from the minute they told her she had cancer, that she would die young. Rudy told her all of his secrets too, like how he loved her grandmother. Smart Charlotte knew about the almost divorce, and like a mature adult, she approved of Rudy and her grandmother. It stayed like that for a year.

Almost a full year after Charlotte joined Rudy, there were two people added to their group. The first was Klaus. After looking a whole year to find Charlotte, he had finally found his granddaughter. When Rudy first saw him and found out who he was, Rudy manipulated his age – something cool you can do in Heaven – to make himself appear older. It was too late however, as Klaus had already seen him. Klaus knew exactly who Rudy was. His picture was in his home.

Klaus stilled loved Liesel very much, but just before he died, they had both realized that this perfect family has really been forced. They never had a true passionate love each other. They both agreed that it would have only been best for them to go their separate ways. Besides, now that he was in Heaven, he was able to catch back up with his first true love, Kirsten Salinger. The two had been very happy seeing each other in Heaven, being able to be young and free again.

The tension between Klaus and Rudy was very intense, but most of the friction I found was coming from Klaus. Klaus knew about Rudy and Liesel's relationship, and he was very jealous that Liesel would tell Charlotte to look for Rudy and not her own grandfather. Rudy tried to ignore it for Charlotte's sake, but he knew Klaus disliked him greatly.

Around this same time, I was called back to Earth for another death call. The second person to join the group was The Book Thief herself, who died in her rocking chair, peacefully watching TV. I was very pleased to see that she did not die in pain, just simply in her sleep. This time, I carried old Liesel all the way up to Heaven.

I laid the old lady upon her former bed at her Himmel Street house. The old bed squeaked as it had the many nights before. Then, I stood back and let Liesel discover this place on her own. The elder slowly opened her wrinkly eyelids and her body started moving soon afterward. With a body as creaky as the bed, she slowly raised herself to her feet and looked around at the familiar room. She studied every little piece of furniture, food, even dust of her former home. I watched was the Book Thief smiled wholesomely while a tear ran down her cheek. She let out a small chuckle of relief once she realized where she was.

She moved slowly down the stairs to the kitchen, where she spent many-a-meals with her mama and papa. She then slowly opened the door to the bathroom and looked inside. She stood in front of the mirror and took a good look at herself. Her smile disappeared slowly. At first I thought it was because she was disappointed that she still looked old in Heaven, and I wanted to tell her that she could change her age up here, but she figured it out for herself. I watched the ninety year old change to a thirty year old, then to a fifteen year old, and finally, back to thirty.

The Book Thief's brown eyes and full lips never changed neither did her curly blonde hair.

Meanwhile, outside, Rudy played yet another game of soccer with Charlotte. Charlotte constantly tried to beat her own personal score, but no one could ever beat Rudy. A few of the old neighborhood kids joined in on the game. They all made themselves as old as Charlotte, to be fair. Charlotte was clearly getting frustrated at in inability to make the number she wanted, and her grandfather sat on the curb, watching her.

While Charlotte didn't like to change her age, her grandfather did. He seemed to like being forty-two for some reason.

The laughter of children and the sound of a soccer ball being hit back and forth instantly pulled Liesel's attention outward. She walked up to the old, rickety window, and peered outside. At first, she didn't even notice the neighborhood kids, or Rudy, or even Charlotte. The first person she saw was sitting directly across the street from the window. Klaus also just happened to look up at this same time. He saw a younger Liesel standing in the window, and before Charlotte or Rudy could even see her, he sprinted up from his spot and ran straight to the house. He opened up that front door and ran straight to Liesel.

Liesel flung her arms around his neck – quite a display between two divorced adults.

Noticing her grandfather gone, Charlotte looked up from the game and scanned the street, looking for her grandfather. She set her eyes on the window facing her, where she could see her grandfather hugging a young, blonde haired woman. Hey, her grandmother was blonde, wasn't she?

"Rudy," she called out. Rudy looked up from his game too and noticed the anxious look in Charlotte's eyes. He switched back to his preferred age, fourteen, and walked over to Charlotte. He held her hand and kneed down in front of her.

"What's wrong Charlotte?" Rudy asked. Charlotte pointed to the window and Rudy followed the invisible line to Liesel and Klaus. The two were no longer hugging, they were talking. Klaus held Liesel's hands in his, and they looked each other in the eyes while he spoke.

"Is that grandmother?" Charlotte asked. Rudy smiled slightly seeing her. She had grown so old, she had fallen in love with someone else, she had children and grandchildren, and yet he still loved this woman. He felt, however, right now would be the wrong time to come in. The conversation looked serious. Rudy nodded his head.

"Yeah, that's grandmother," he said.

Charlotte and Rudy both watched anxiously as Klaus and Liesel spoke. It was mostly just Klaus speaking. Their hands broke apart, and Liesel pulled her small ring from Rudy off her left ring finger and moved it to the right. She then slipped off her wedding band and placed it in his hand. They both looked at each other with a mix of sadness, hopefulness, and thankfulness. He held her for one last hug, and walked out of the house. Liesel did not follow.

Klaus came outside, and without saying a word, kissed his granddaughters head.

"I'll come back soon, okay?" he said.

"Where are you going?" Charlotte asked. He never wanted to leave, and now he was leaving her? What was up with this guy?

"I am going to go do something I have wanted to do by whole life," Klaus said, vaguely. Thank goodness he clarified though.

"I am going to go be with my first true love," Klaus said. Charlotte got teary eyed. She didn't want her grandfather to leave, now when she could finally have both her grandparents together.

"Don't cry. I'll come back soon. There is just something grandfather has to do," he said. Then, a light appeared. I liked to call them tunnels, because they were a circular path the lead you somewhere else entirely, like a tunnel. Klaus stood up and walked through the tunnel, looking back at Charlotte once. He waved goodbye, and continue to walk through the tunnel, and the light disappeared. Charlotte felt desperate.

"Go get grandmother," Charlotte demanded of Rudy. Rudy was the one who felt anxious now. It still didn't seem like the right time.

When he looked into the window, Liesel was now looking in the same direction that the tunnel had been in, and tears were flowing down her now-young face. Occasionally, a smile would peak through, that told Rudy that she had been told something beautiful, yet heart breaking.

Charlotte, frustrated, stomped her feet before running into the house herself. She clumped up the big stairs to the house and slammed open the door, frightening her grandmother. Her grandmother turned around slowly, and when she saw the face of her granddaughter, she dropped to her knees and begged Charlotte for a hug. Charlotte, tears covering her face, slammed into her grandmother's body, and Liesel began to rock her back and forth.

"Look how beautiful you are with your hair," Liesel muttered into the side of Charlotte's face.

"You are so gorgeous, and strong, and I just missed you so much," Liesel began to cry into her granddaughters shoulder.

"I found him, just like you told me too," Charlotte assured her grandmother. She heard her grandmother chuckle.

"Of course you did, why else would you be here?" she asked. The two continued to hold onto each other tightly, not wanting to be the first one to let go. They cleared their minds, stopped their tears, and took some deep breaths before pulling apart.

I had a feeling the Book Thief was about to say something to her granddaughter, but before she could, he attention was pulled towards the boy in the doorway. I could tell he was holding his breath, figuring out what to say. Charlotte followed Liesel's eyes to Rudy and smile because she knew they both loved each other. When she turned back, she gasped at the side of her grandmother.

Liesel had turned herself back to fourteen as well, and Charlotte was taken away by her grandmother's beauty. She had never seen her grandmother's features so clearly. Liesel slowly stood up with shaky knees, and Rudy took a step closer to her. Without words, Liesel sprinted into Rudy's arms, with at least twice the impact Charlotte had given her.

Charlotte stood behind them and smiled. Rudy and Liesel's eyes were both closed. They breathed in each other's smell for the first time seventy-something years. They both felt their breathes get shaky, and the excitement of their teenage years replayed again.

Liesel pulled away and grabbed Rudy's face, forcing his lips onto hers, but it's not like Rudy minded. The two held each other in an intense kiss. The best kind of kiss, the one where they were both alive, and it was long overdue.

Welcome to Heaven, where there is only happiness, and everyone you miss is waiting for you.

Charlotte smiled even wider, never seeing her grandmother so happy.

_The end._


End file.
